


Personal Logs Recovered From 'The Halitron'

by mat



Category: FTL: Faster Than Light
Genre: Epistolary, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-18
Updated: 2012-09-18
Packaged: 2017-12-06 17:50:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/738422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mat/pseuds/mat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These crew logs were recovered from the wreckage of The Halitron.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Personal Logs Recovered From 'The Halitron'

**Personal logs recovered from The Halitron**

 

**Maxwell, O. Williams, Sophia**

 

Pre-Launch

 

Maxwell

This will be my first job piloting a ship. Sure, I've done it plenty of times before, but never for a mission. I'm not too nervous, I know what the Halitron's about, I just don't want anything to happen to my crew. This cargo is important, so I know the rebels will be all over us if we let them.

 

O. Williams

This whole situation stinks. I don't like it one bit. We're carrying valuable data halfway across the galaxy, with this pipsqueak to fly us. Sure, he may have read the manual for this ship, but does he really know what he's doing? Will he keep his cool when we're boarded and the only way to defend ourselves is being locked in the bathroom with the airlocks open? At least Sophia's got some experience.

 

Sophia

My last job before being reassigned to Tactical Control. I asked them not to go easy on me and I guess I got it. Williams' eyes are already all over me, I don't know how I'm going to survive this much time with him. Oh well, it'll be a simple enough job as long as nothing major happens.

 

Day One

 

Maxwell

Up bright and early today. The skies look clear and our course is set.

 

A distress call came in from a human mining colony. Sounds like they've got some trouble with some virus and need us to work crowd control and prevent panic. Seems simple enough.

 

Once docked, we found the colony's authorities and received instructions for cordoning off the area, which barriers go where. Easy enough. We motioned them civilians back with our weapons and set up everything we needed to. It seemed like we were only there a brief time, but apparently that was enough. O. Williams had been infected. He looked weak. He was in no state to work and this colony had the equipment necessary to treat him. I made the executive decision to leave him on the colony to get healed. Hopefully he'll receive the care he needs to improve. The worst part is now we're a small ship with a man down.

 

O. Williams

Great, a distress call first thing in the morning. I know we're playing this one by the book, but we're carrying precious cargo here. We can't stop to help everyone who got a paper cut.

 

Sophia

Maxwell told me over breakfast all about his family. How his folks are so proud of him piloting his own ship and how his sister is getting married next month to some high-priced lawyer. It made me think about my own future. My life is changing in a big way and it's a little scary.

 

We got a distress call today from some mining colony. Panic ensuing due to a deadly disease, need us to control things down there. Thing is, William's girlfriend died from this disease. I know because I've heard him talking before about getting gipped on his insurance fees because he spent so much time with her when she was almost gone. His face didn't change when Maxwell explained the situation, but it doesn't seem like he's taking it well.

 

Shit. I can't take this fucking job any more. We got down to the colony okay, Williams seemed a little jumpy, but I could understand why. We met with officials and got instructions for barricades and sectioning off the population. So we move down to the main plaza, ready to set up the borders and a few of the infected get a little too close to Maxwell. Williams goes berserk. "Get the fuck back, all of you!" He drew his weapon and aimed it at the crowd. Of course Maxwell panics and follows suit, shouting at them to move away from the area. After that we were pretty much left alone, but then Williams started coughing. Barely noticeable at first, but then we could see what was happening. It must have been his prior experience with the disease that singled him out. I looked into his eyes and saw only fear. Terror consumed him and he fell to the floor, shaking. Half from the illness, half from emotional distress. He was done. We knew we couldn't take him with us; I knew he wouldn't want us to. We took our payment and left.

 

Day Two

 

Maxwell

We weren't ten seconds out of our next jump before being hailed by a ship. Your money or your life? I think I saw that movie once. The Federation eats chumps like you for breakfast, pal.

 

Ha! Take that, criminal scum! They tried to surrender, but I won't leave any rebels alive in my wake.

 

Sophia

Maxwell's just informed me of a ship coming out of nowhere and attacked us with no warning. But don't worry, it's just a small ship and we can take them easily. Battle stations it is, I guess.

 

Well, I've got to hand it to him, that went alright. Maybe we were a little overzealous on the missile use, but we didn't get hit at all. Put that down to Maxwell's piloting skills, maybe?

 

Day Three

 

Maxwell

Yum, egg-on-toast paste for breakfast. These Federation meals do wonders for the digestive system.

 

On our course, we came across an auto-assault ship attacking a small station. Not on my watch! Powering weapons as we speak.

 

That felt really good. Stopping a bully from picking on the little guy. They even thanked us with some extra supplies! Oh, plus I figured out this maneuver where you pick off the shield with your missiles and then use your laser to take out the weapons. How genius of me!

 

Sophia

Maxwell wouldn't stop talking about intestines during breakfast and all the different enzymes required to run a successful biological system. Put me right off.

 

Great, another society to save. More life risking for us.

 

In an effort to curb missile use, I taught Maxwell a technique for getting through the shield layer - disabling it. I'm sure he'll be using less missiles from now on, but why do I get the feeling we'll be getting into a lot more fights? Those extra resources we got from the station sure aren't any detterent.

 

Day Four

 

Maxwell

Sophia asked me to tell her more about her family today. I wasn't sure why until I obliged and saw her dreamy eyes. I think she's eager to be in the family way, if you catch my drift. Are you picking up what I'm putting down? She wants a bun in the oven, three little piglets with the whole pitter-patter shebang. Children! La bambinos!

 

A message, "We've found you at last!" I knew those rebels were following us.

 

Ha! We're unstoppable! You'll have to take a look at the official report for details on the battle, but we wiped them out!

 

Sophia

"They must be following us." Of course they're following us, you idiot. Don't you think they know what we have? I just wish they'd let us have a day in peace.

 

Now I'm convinced he wasn't trained. Even I could see from my console that that ship was equipped with a drone bay, but Maxwell did nothing to account for it. We're just lucky nothing expected happened or we'd be toast.

 

Day Five

 

Maxwell

I've never flown through a real nebula before, just simulations. The distortions are so much thicker than I'd been trained for, I could barely find my launchpad to the next sector.

 

Sophia

Today I finally managed to get Maxwell to install some critical upgrades we've been needing for a while. Sometimes I wonder why I wasn't put in charge of this ship. Give me something important for my farewell mission, not some back room point and click job.

 

Day Six

 

Maxwell

Engi space is really amazing. I hope I meet some on this trip, we've always gotten along.

 

Sophia

Sleeping in the next room over from an airlock isn't the worst thing in the world, but it feels so unsecure. Like hanging off the edge of space. Not to mention the threat of boarding parties. I've had invaders come in through the airlocks a few times. Just cracked 'em right open.

 

Day Seven

 

Maxwell

Today we had the opportunity to stop at a local Engi store. They have some amazing technology here, it's a shame we had nothing to trade on account of those upgrades Sophia made me install.

 

Sophia

I'm glad we couldn't buy anything at that store today. I wouldn't trust Maxwell with his own wallet, let alone mine.

 

Has it really only been a week? I guess there's only so many times in a row you can eat Federation food paste before it feels like the only thing you've ever eaten.

 

Day Eight

 

Maxwell

Sophia seemed upset with me today, but I can't tell you why. I hope this mission doesn't last longer than a month or she can drop me off at the nearest garden planet.

 

Sophia

We passed the most beautiful green planet today, with fields and hills and even a forest or two. Maxwell could only comment on how the Engis wouldn't find anything of benefit to the planet. I guess not everyone sees beauty in simple life.

 

Day Nine

 

Maxwell

This morning's breakfast was eaten in silence. I guess I'll have to get used to taking my meals without company.

 

Some more bandits "offering" a "toll." These guys are starting to piss me off.

 

Surrendering just makes me angrier, when will they learn this?

 

Sophia

I knew this peace couldn't last long. Let's hope this goes better than last night.

 

After the battle, Maxwell was telling me how the enemy ship had tried to surrender before we blew it up. I seem to be questioning his leadership a little too often for my liking. The Federation encourages treasuring the lives of others, even the enemy. That's something I'll always stand for and believe in. Even Williams knew the score on that.

 

Day Ten

 

Maxwell

Sophia is growing more distant, I'm worried that soon we won't be at the level we need to work together efficiently. I'll talk to her about it tomorrow, if the situation doesn't improve.

 

Haha, an Engi ship saw us jumping and took us to be a threat. I reassured them that we wouldn't show them any harm and they went on their way. Those guys are crazy.

 

Sophia

Today Maxwell told me that a random ship surrendered to us and he let them go. I guess he has at least some scruples.

 

Day Eleven

 

Maxwell

I was woken by a hail from that Engi ship from yesterday. They're in trouble and need our help.

 

Our friends were just messaging us for a space station they were at. It's getting hit pretty hard by a Mantis scout. Sounds like a fight I wanna be a part of.

 

Man, that battle was intense! Our cockpit got damaged in a blast, so I had to make some repairs while I turned all the work over to Sophia. Let's just say I'm glad she's on my side.

 

The talk with Sophia went okay. I explained my worries and she reassured me that nothing was wrong, it's just her last mission before some kind of promotion, so she's a little tense. I think I get that.

 

Sophia

Maxwell woke me up with the intercom to tell me to prepare for combat. Talk about a rude awakening.

 

Apparently the Engis were evacuating their station when we arrived. I'm glad they're okay. Now, for a thoroughly peaceful rest of the day, I hope.

 

That was weird, Maxwell just came up to me to ask me how I was, saying stuff about team cohesion. I guess we should learn to work together. After all, there's still a long way to go.

 

Day Twelve

 

Maxwell

So there I was, floating through space and what should appear but a de-activated rebel scout. I don't want to wake Sophia; she didn't seem to appreciate it yesterday. I'll just download some of the ship's data...

 

All right! A full map of this sector! We're leaving right now, but it could still come in handy for the Federation.

 

Sophia

At breakfast Maxwell was muttering something about a map. I didn't really take it in, my pineapple-mango paste was all I was hearing.

 

Dinner was steak paste. Maxwell must be bringing out the good stuff in the name of cohesion. I'm not complaining.

 

Day Thirteen

 

Maxwell

Another distress call. And we were so close to leaving this sector, too. Oh well, a job's a job.

 

Giant spiders? We're going to have to talk about this...

 

I thought Sophia would be worried, but no, we went in there like soldiers and flushed those giant alien spiders out. No joke. We even got some resources from the station owners, too.

 

Sophia

Maxwell responded to a distress call concerning some giant spiders. Now, usually, he says, he'd jump right in and charge those sonsabitches down, but today he's not quite feeling up to snuff. Too bad, I say, a job's a job.

 

That was hilarious. Maxwell was so scared when we'd snuck right up on the spiders and they finally turned around. I think it was his screams that did most of the job of sending them back.

 

Day Fourteen

 

Maxwell

This job sucks.

 

Sophia

Maxwell found another distress call, but it was too far back. With the rebels on our heels, there was no way we'd make it back to where we needed to go before they caught us. He argued and argued that it was the right thing to do, but I managed to convince him that the right thing to do is get this data out of the hands of criminals. He still didn't take it well.

 

Day Fifteen

 

Maxwell

There, we're in the next sector and those poor people are dead. Happy?

 

Sophia

The shower's busted and I don't have the tools to fix it. We might be able to find something in this sector, but it certainly won't help the mood around here.

 

Day Sixteen

 

Maxwell

What the hell's wrong the the shower lately? What am I, some kind of dry cleaner?

 

Distress call. Ship stuck in an asteroid belt. I'm gonna use our shield to help.

 

What the hell are you doing to me?! Damn you!! Damn you to hell!

 

Sophia

Great, now Maxwell's found another distress call and he's determined to pull a ship out of an asteroid field with our shield. I tried to suggest other options, but he's preparing for it right now. I don't know why he's calling out "Full power to shields!", he's the one who has to do it. I hope he knows that.

 

The ship didn't make it. We barely made it. Maxwell's not taking it well. He's gone to his room and left the ship in my hands. I can hear him shouting.

 

Day Seventeen

 

Maxwell

There were some crew members available for hire at the store. I was thinking about trading our gun for one of them to stave off loneliness, but that would be stupid of me. Without a gun, how would we survive?

 

Sophia

The ship was again in my hands today, so I flew us to a nearby Engi store to repair some of the damage from the asteroid belt. Plus, the Engis should cheer Maxwell up a little.

 

I guess the pit stop worked, Maxwell's taken up the cockpit once again.

 

Day Eighteen

 

Maxwell

Chili paste for lunch? What's wrong with this woman?

 

Sophia

We flew back past asteroid belt where the ship was destroyed, but Maxwell didn't seem to notice.

 

Day Nineteen

 

Maxwell

The Engis have the best form of entertainment. Maybe I'll move out here once I'm retired.

 

Sophia

Today we passed by some sort of Engi carnival. Maxwell even slowed the ship down so our viewfinders could take some photos.

 

Day Twenty

 

Maxwell

This is one distress call that won't go awry. Their defense system is shooting at them? Well, I'll shoot it back.

 

I don't know what sort of technology they've got at that station, but that was insane. I just kept firing and firing, but nothing got through. I'm surprised we made it out alive.

 

Sophia

We got another distress call today, pretty late. It turns out their defense system was busted and they couldn't get anywhere near it to fix it. Maxwell said we should just shoot the thing, but I told him he should let this one go. He informed me that he is the pilot and, as such, he has ultimate command of the ship. In turn, I informed him that I am the firing operator and, as such, if he wants a weapon shot, he'd have to do it himself. Now he's run off to the weapons station to give it a go.

 

I knew it, he couldn't do it. The guns started shooting back before he managed to get through their shields, so we had to run away. At least we only received minor damage.

 

Day Twenty One

 

Maxwell

Now this is a distress call I can handle. Just some friendly Engis needing a little fuel. They can have as much as they need.

 

Wow, that's an exceedingly large payment coming aboard. If I wasn't so conscious of rebels, I'd go back and buy that friend.

 

Sophia

We can't keep taking distress calls like this, the rebels are going to catch up with us, I just know it.

 

Day Twenty Two

 

Maxwell

Nothing today but some Zoltan researchers taking a survey. Sorry, we can't stop, we're running for our lives.

 

Sophia

With the way the waste from the toilet powers the ship, when I look into a monitor, that's Maxwell's poop going into my eyes. Freaky.

 

Day Twenty Three

 

Maxwell

Now there's a space station wanting to trade drones for fuel. What is this, the spam sector?

 

Sophia

For some reason Maxwell served spam paste tonight and then started complaining about it. He can be weird sometimes.

 

Day Twenty Four

 

Maxwell

Finally at the long-range beacon. The rebels have to be closing in by now.

 

A pirate chasing a ship? One more won't hurt.

 

That fight went okay. We took a few hits, but we held our own and beat them down. Plus, a crew member on the ship we saved offered to join us! Hassifa seems like a solid addition to our team.

 

Sophia

Did I commend Maxwell on his piloting lately? It really is very good. He chased down a pirate ship and got us in a good tactical position surprisingly effortlessly. They got out hull down to 75%, but we can pay for repairs.

 

Huh, apparently one of the Engis from the ship is going to be staying with us. Okay.

 

Day Twenty Five

 

Maxwell

Great, now we have to make it through the Mantis homeworld sector. Hassifa sounds confident about our chances, but I'm not so sure.

 

Sophia

Oh, it's since been explained to me that Hassifa will be working as part of the crew. Extra help and a morale boost for Maxwell, what could go wrong?

 

Day Twenty Six

 

Maxwell

We've come across a Mantis ship telling us to lower our shields and Hassifa is just laughing at them. I love this guy!

 

Haha! I got reports from Hassifa that someone had teleported onto our ship, so you know what I did? I opened the airlocks! He suffocated trying to beat down the blast doors! Too late for that, sucker, hahahaha!

 

Sophia

Ugh, why do all of our battles have to happen so early in the morning? I can see some teleportation systems installed on their ship, too. I guess Maxwell won't be regretting those blast doors now.

 

That didn't go so badly, but I still don't know why Maxwell's ordering the use of so many missiles. We're in a rough territory now and there's not an unlimited supply.

 

Day Twenty Seven

 

Maxwell

After jumping, we were immediately hailed by a Mantis ship. Looks like we've got more fighting to do.

 

Two boarders this time. They didn't even get to any systems before they were killed by the cold of space. Hassifa reported signs of retreat, so I targeted a missile straight at their cockpit. Boom!

 

Sophia

With Hassifa around, meals are getting lonely for me. Me and Maxwell used to chat, but nowadays he just spends his mealtimes with his Engi friend. Not even steak paste could make up for that.

 

I wasn't even ready that time! Maxwell needs to up his brief speeds, because I'm sure those boarders were on our ship before I was at my controls. And we're now out of missiles. Thanks a lot, Max.

 

Day Twenty Eight

 

Maxwell

Distress call. Another station with the defense system problem. I was kind of worried until Hassifa told me a way he could fix it from our ship.

 

All right, buddy! Man, is there anything he can't do? That was amazing!

 

Sophia

Looks like Maxwell's gonna try to get us killed again, moving in on a space station with a fault defense system.

 

Oh, wow, apparently Hassifa managed to fix it with his magical robot powers. I guess he is good for something.

 

Day Twenty Nine

 

Maxwell

We found a Mantis mining operation using lots of Engi slaves. We were trying to figure out ways we could free them, but scanning the area revealed heavy artillery. I guess this is a fight to be continued.

 

Sophia

We stopped at one planet for a while today. Maxwell wouldn't tell me what was going on, just to stay alert. I don't like this.

 

Oh, never mind, apparently, it was nothing.

 

Day Thirty

 

Maxwell

Another rebel scout attacking an outpost. Now this is a fight we can win.

 

All right! Another toy for the ship!

 

Sophia

This ship is starting to get a little stinky. We definitely need a shower soon.

 

An outpost needs saving? Maybe they have a shower we can use when we're done.

 

That could've gone better. It felt like Maxwell was just toying with our opponent. He's overconfident if he thinks we don't need to be worried. We took a lot more damage than we needed to.

 

Day Thirty One

 

Maxwell

We came across a Mantis ship struggling along, so I popped my weapons up at them and they offered to sell us some valuables for cheap. I decided to pay them to repair the whole ship and even snagged us a part that makes reloading even quicker.

 

Sophia

Today, Maxwell was about to spend all of our resources on a drone system, when I convinced him that we desperately needed repairs or we wouldn't make it. He saw my side of things and I even let him buy a missile or two.

 

Day Thirty Two

 

Maxwell

I think there was something in that snack those Mantis guys gave me. I need to lie down.

 

Sophia

I spent some time with Hassifa today, what with Maxwell being sick and all. He seems like a nice guy. He told me the thing the other day with the hushed voices was an Engi slave mining operation. Apparently they were planning to take the place down from the inside, but it was too big a mission for three people. I guess they were going to include me eventually, after all.

 

Day Thirty Three

 

Maxwell

Fifth sector out. Apparently things get tougher from now on, or so they say. There's so many rumors floating around those Federation academies you never know what to believe. Anyway, we had a choice between the Rocks and an uncharted nebula. Hassifa convinced me to take the nebula. Less unknown variables, he said.

 

Sophia

Maxwell keep talking about "the curse of the Fifth Sector." Nobody actually believes any of that, do they?

 

Day Thirty Four

 

Maxwell

Oh man, that was insane! We were floating through the nebula, trying not to hit anything when I saw something blinking in a wrecked ship. Next thing I know, a huge ship is coming out of nowhere and firing on us! There was nothing I could do but inform the rest of the crew and dodge the best I could. Sophia's been bugging me about missiles and we're almost out, so I tried not to use too many, but that made it incredibly difficult to get through their shields. We were both firing at each other non-stop, with no result from my side, but apparently Sophia and Hassifa were running around putting out fires and fixing systems. I'm surprised we came out of it alive, but fortunately we managed to hold them off.

 

Sophia

Rough day today. Hassifa and I had a hard time during that battle, but I know Maxwell was doing his best and I'm glad he didn't use as many missiles as he could. He held off, even in a tense situation and I'm proud of him.

 

Day Thirty Five

 

Maxwell

Another distress call. I just can't ignore them. Not after what happened to that ship. Those people. I can't stand back. They want help getting somewhere? I'll lead them right to the front door!

 

Sophia

When I woke up today, Hassifa told me we're helping a civilian ship get to where it needs to go, just a few jumps away. I hope Maxwell is prepared for any trouble.

 

Day Thirty Six

 

Maxwell

What a great store. I hope I have the opportunity to shop there again. Just great service.

 

Sophia

We stopped at a store for repairs and some supplies. Maxwell seemed very pleased with himself the whole time. Well, at least he's happy.

 

Day Thirty Seven

 

Maxwell

Breakfast? More like breakslow! Why doesn't she just choose a flavor of paste and get on with it?

 

This wreckage in the storm with all the lightning and everything is great! I could probably find something good if I fly around carefully enough...

 

Wow, I didn't think I'd find anything that good! A woman! An honest to goodness woman! There I was, hovering around and I saw a barely damaged ship. I thought it was worth salvaging, so I sent Hassifa on board to check it out and he found Emily unconscious in the power supply room! She's agreed to join us and everything, this is so great!

 

Sophia

This morning Hassifa told me he could have fixed the shower the entire time he's been here. I dunno, this extra protective layer of grime might come in handy.

 

We've flown into a plasma storm and Maxwell reckons he can get a good view of the debris. Whatever he wants, I know he's a capable enough pilot.

 

Wow, I knew he was good, but I didn't think he'd get results like that. I went in for a shower and when I came out, he'd turned into a woman! Not really. What happened was he found an undamaged ship, sent Hassifa aboard and there she was, just lying on the floor. Welcome aboard, Emily!

 

Emily

So they've given me this log to write in, said it's all personal and I can write whatever I want. I just came from a trading ship, so I'm not really sure on the procedures and stuff. Apparently the Engi doesn't get a log because he just records his memories robotically or something? Anyway, his brain works differently, so a log would be worthless to him. I guess us humans are just the sentimental type. Oh, isn't this a nice ship, though? I guess the Federation funding really gets you something, huh? I'm gonna get some rest now, so good night.

 

Emily out.

 

Day Thirty Eight

 

Maxwell

Another distress call. Let's do this.

 

Okay, just remember what happened yesterday. You can do this, Max.

 

Yes, we made it! I'm the greatest pilot who ever lived!

 

Sophia

I gave Emily some Pizza paste for breakfast. I probably shouldn't have gone easy on her the first time, but she seemed displeased either way.

 

Maxwell seems very hyped up about this distress call we're following. Apparently, that Emily really perked him up.

 

Oh, dear. The distress call is someone trapped in another asteroid belt. There's no way I can convince Maxwell to got try again. He needs to redeem himself, or at least that's what he believes.

 

He did it! Oh, good for him. Everyone was watching as he carefully pulled them away under our shield. Even Emily seemed nervous for him.

 

Emily

Food paste for breakfast? It barely even tastes like pizza! I guess that's where Federation funding fails, then.

 

Ooh, a distress call, this is so exciting!

 

Everyone seems very nervous all of a sudden, I guess this is the high stress lifestyle the Federation soldiers carry. The one they don't tell you about in the brochures.

 

So much celebrating! I've never seen an Engi with such a big smile before! If we're going to throw a party for every small victory, I think I'm going to like being on this ship.

 

Emily out.

 

Day Thirty Nine

 

Maxwell

We arrived at the destination of the people who were following us and waited for them, but I guess they lost us in the storm. That's too bad.

 

We found a rebel space station being patrolled by just one ship. It isn't necessarily protocol for us to attack straight away like this, so I bring everyone in to discuss it. Hassifa thinks it's wisest to avoid the station and carry on to our destination. Sophia agrees, saying we have no idea what that station is or what's on it. Emily, however, thinks it's just plain right to blast some rebels out of the sky and I'm inclined to agree with her. My vote is the tie-breaker anyway, so that's what we're going to do.

 

That went well, I think. The station was a storage cache with lots of resources, just as I suspected. Now, onward and upward!

 

Sophia

I'm glad the shower was fixed before Emily arrived. The only problem now, though, is the line for it in the morning.

 

Now Max and Emily want to shoot up a space station. Fine, do whatever you want. Only, I'm the gunsman, so it'll be me doing whatever you want. Fine, whatever. It's not like I have the experience to know better or anything.

 

Now Emily saying some nonsense about us being on a secret mission. I'm glad she hasn't been told what we're actually doing here.

 

Emily

Right now, we're headed on a secret mission to blow up a rebel base. It's going to be so cool!

 

Woo, we did it! We're the most super special agents the Federation has roaming the skies!

 

My bed is hard and itchy. Remind me to complain tomorrow.

 

Emily out.

 

Day Forty

 

Maxwell

Forty days? That's barely even a month! I can take more than that! This job'll be easy!

 

Sophia

At breakfast, Emily complained to me about her bed feeling like an anvil. What am I, her Acme maid service?

 

Emily

Today, Maxwell told me that he'd been in the sky now for forty days. Sounds like a long trip to me, maybe he should settle down for a while.

 

Spaghetti and olives? Who made these food pastes?

 

Emily out.

 

Day Forty One

 

Maxwell

All right, back in Engi space. Now it's party time again!

 

Sophia

Ugh, Engi territory again? Really? I get enough of Engis at breakfast and lunch, not to mention when I'm trying to do my job. Well, at least we're out of that nebula.

 

Emily

Nobody seemed interested in hearing my story, which seemed pretty rude to me, but I don't mind telling you, dear diary! So there we were, me and Tom and Perry, flying through space with our wares, when our trade route was cut off by a nebula. "We'll never get through that," they said worriedly, but I told them it was nothing to fret about and we'd be on the other side in no time. They told me I was crazy, dumped the stock into a shuttle and flew away, leaving me with the ship. That just made me even more determined to get through that nebula, so I put the engine into full blast and went straight into the purpley darkness. The sensors couldn't see a thing and eventually the engines went out. I went to check it out when the ship must have hit something, which knocked me out. So there Hassifa finds me lying on the floor in my underwear. He was very understanding and let me put my clothes on before he carried me to safety, bless him. That's it!

 

Emily out.

 

Day Forty Two

 

Maxwell

Another ship stuck in an asteroid belt? I got this. I won't even bother waking the others.

 

What did I tell ya? Simple as that.

 

Sophia

What did I tell you? Overconfident. This morning, before anyone else was awake, Max went into an asteroid field and pulled another ship out. Sure, it was a good thing to do, but he should have woken us up. What if something had happened? What if he'd been hurt and there was nobody there to do anything? Stupid, Max!

 

Emily

Yay! Maxy saves the day again before breakfast! Which is what, fish paste? Yucko!

 

Day Forty Three

 

Maxwell

Today we stopped at an Engi trading post and guess what we got. A cloaking system! I know, it's so cool! We'll be all "pew pew pew" and they'll be all "Where are they, even?" I mean, it'll be so cool! Plus, we had some money left over to hire this cool guy named Ferry.

 

Sophia

So today we got the ship fixed up, installed a cloaking device and also hired this new guy, Terry? Perry? I don't know his name, but he doesn't seem like the guy to trust around expensive new equipment.

 

Emily

Psst, diary. Don't tell anyone this, but the new crew member they hired, Ferry? He's my old boyfriend, Perry. Yeah, I know, right? He's acting all like he doesn't know me, but he totally does, so just be cool and act natural, okay?

 

Emily out.

 

Ferry

Hey, my name's Ferry, I'm new to this ship. I don't think I'll be around long, but I know logs are procedure and I know why they're done, so I'll just follow convention for now.

 

Day Forty Four

 

Maxwell

So we were heading to a distress signal, when we found an Engi ship being attacked. The attacker saw us, turned and started firing. They were heavily armed and shielded, so we did all we could to fight back, including using all of our cloaking abilities. Eventually, Ferry, who was helping me patch up the cockpit, convinced me that we weren't getting anywhere and we needed to jump. Perhaps our first defeat, but we did our best. We just weren't strong enough.

 

Sophia

That battle was bullshit! We could've been in there if we hadn't wasted all of our missiles taking out minor subsystems on the tiniest of ships a month ago. If only we had missiles we wouldn't have had to run away.

 

Emily

Being in the engine room during a battle can be hard sometimes, but luckily, they didn't hit anything near me this time. I heard the hull is a little broken up, so I hope my Perry is okay.

 

Dinner today was tuna casserole.

 

Emily out.

 

Ferry

Man, why was I the one running around fixing things when there's an Engi working the shields, a little boy piloting and a crazy girl running around in her underwear who people tell me is running the engines? This ship is crazy, I'm just glad they listened to me when I told them to run. We could've died, all of us.

 

Day Forty Five

 

Maxwell

Okay, another ship guarding a space station. It's okay, though, this time I know the station is military storage and the ship is definitely automated. All I need is to cloak up and sneak in and out with all of their stuff.

 

All right, I did it! Snuck out of there with a nice little drone up my sleeve.

 

Sophia

Ferry asked to be switched with Hassifa so that he's running the shields while Hassifa does repair work. That makes sense. After all, Engis are notoriously skilled at mechanical and electrical work.

 

Emily

The Engi keeps trying to put clothes on me. You might be able to fix a lot of things, but you won't fix me!

 

Emily out!

 

Ferry

Okay, I've spoken to Sophia, who seems to be the leader of this little outfit and she's agreed that it makes sense for me to work the shields while the Engi does the repairs. I hope his boyfriend, the pilot, isn't too upset.

 

Day Forty Six

 

Maxwell

That was weird. That ship that was following us through the nebula turned up and thanked us for our help. Yeah, no problem, dudes.

 

Sophia

It's feeling less and less like a Federation ship nowadays. Hell, there are more non-Federation crew members than Federation. I wonder what Williams would say about all this.

 

Emily

Perry's trying to play hard to get. He was always very naughty that way.

 

Roast peanut butter today.

 

Emily out.

 

Ferry

That crazy chick keeps saying I'm her boyfriend. I'm getting off of this ship soon if it kills me.

 

Day Forty Seven

 

Maxwell

Flying just around the long-range beacon is a pirate chasing a civilian ship. I'm gonna go track them down.

 

There they are. You're dead! Dead!

 

Sophia

Okay, it's all hands to battle stations as we near this ship. It sounds easy enough, but we're in a weakened state. We need to approach this cautiously. Our hull is at half health and we have no missiles. Repeat: No missiles.

 

Emily

Buttered ham paste again? Why do they even bother?

 

Uh oh, looks like another fight. The Engi is running around with a fire extinguisher. He looks worried.

 

Ferry

This fight looks like it could get ugly. I'd better buckle up.

 

 


End file.
